Category: Reflections

Through baptism Christ becomes within us a source of the living waters of grace. Through the Holy Spirit the love of God is poured into our hearts and our spiritual thirst is quenched. We come alive. We become in our turn the wells of God’s goodness at which people will drink.

On the mountain Jesus is transfigured in the presence of his apostles. His message to them “Do not be afraid”, reminds us that God calls us to bear the hardships of this life in the knowledge that Christ is everything. He calls us to be prepared to leave behind all things in order to proclaim his Gospel.

God created the human race free from sin, but our first parents yielded to the temptation of evil. In them each one of us has sinned, but in Christ we are given the power to overcome the temptations of the world just as he did.

Every human being is made in the image and likeness of God. Jesus teaches us to look upon our neighbours as friends and not enemies. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. In this way we will become holy as God wants us to be.

God’s ways are other than ours. When we try to penetrate deeper into the meaning of the Law we realise that it is only God’s Spirit that can help us to plumb the depths of God’s commandments. Jesus is the fulfilment of the Law. If we follow him, we will keep God’s word.

Jesus calls us to be the salt of the earth, and gives us the example to follow in his own life and death. We are also called to be, through our good works, a light shining in the darkness so that others may be guided on their journey to God.

The Holy Spirit rested on Jesus Christ when he was baptised by John the
Baptist. Through the coming of the Spirit, John recognised Christ as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Through the gift of the Spirit, we too are called to take our place among the saints and become the light of the world, proclaiming salvation to the ends of the earth.

The Holy Spirit came down upon Jesus, the beloved Son of God, at his baptism in the River Jordan. The same Holy Spirit comes down on each one of us and helps us to live our lives so that we are faithful to our baptismal calling.

Wise men from the east, guided by a star, come to worship Christ. In them we see the homage of the nations to Christ, who is for ever the light of the world. We too are called to become an epiphany – a revealing – of God, by letting the light of Christ shine in our lives.

God sets before us the Holy Family of Nazareth as the model for all families. The family unit is the basic structure upon which human society is built. A Christian family life is a powerful witness to our world of God’s love for us revealed in Christ.